Charles L. Ridings

Charles Luther Ridings was born September 3, 1930 in Arbyrd, Missouri to Gus Hill Ridings and Edith Masters Ridings. He was the fourth of five children. Charles passed away on June 28, 2021 at the age of 90.

As a young boy, Charles picked cotton on the family farm in Silverdale. His father eventually moved the family to Kennett, Missouri where Charles attended high school and ran track. Following high school, he attended Southeast Missouri State University, and then Oklahoma Baptist University where he met the love of his life, Norma Jean Shelton.

Charles joined the Air Force in early 1953, and, after basic training and OCS, he and Norma were married December 22 of that year. He served for 7 years, flying missions all over the world as the navigator of a Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. During his service, Charles and Norma lived in Houston, Texas and Greenville, South Carolina, and welcomed their first two children, Jennifer and Jeffery. Charles received an honorable discharge as a captain in 1960.

Following the Air Force, Charles attended the University of Missouri from 1960 to 1963. He completed his Bachelor’s degree and also earned his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. During this time, he worked as the minister of music at Calvary Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri. After graduation, Charles was hired by IBM and moved his family to Lexington, Kentucky where daughter Robin was born. Charles and Norma sang in the Lexington Singers and were active in their church. He was transferred to Austin, Texas in 1971 and retired from IBM in 1992. Charles and Norma were faithful and active members of Hyde Park Baptist Church and found time to sing in the Austin Choral Union. Later, Charles joined Covenant Presbyterian Church where he sang in the choir and was a member of Armchair Travelers. He also enjoyed his IBM retirees breakfast club.

Charles, it seemed, could do anything. He was the ultimate handyman, always working on the family house and later, helping with projects at his children’s houses. He gave of his talents freely, installing sound and light systems in several churches, equipping and modernizing his parents’ and siblings’ homes based on their special needs, and just generally serving others. He was generous with his time and talents throughout his life. He loved to travel, documenting his trips through outstanding photography. In recent years, he relished hosting the family on annual trips to Galveston for Dickens on the Strand. Always the firm, kind, godly and loving patriarch, he was the rock of the family following Norma’s death in 2002. In 2015, Charles was blessed to marry Sally Wiedemann. Together, they attended Austin Baptist Church.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents, his four siblings, and his first wife Norma.

He leaves to cherish his memory his wife Sally, children Jennifer Ridings-Myhra and her husband Alton Martin, Jeffery Ridings, and Robin Cobb and her husband Kevin. He is also survived by his loving grandchildren Matthew Myhra (Natalie), Nicholas Myhra, Emily Grace Ridings, Richard Ridings, Samuel Cobb, and Holly Cobb. He adored his two great-grandchildren Payton Myhra and Sterling Myhra. He was blessed to add two stepsons, Matt Wiedemann and Clay Wiedemann and their families in his later years.

The family would like to thank the caregivers from Texas Home Health, and the Encompass hospice nurses, for their loving care of Charles over the past eight months.

Daddy, thank you for being a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather to your family. You demonstrated God’s grace, mercy, faithfulness, and forgiveness in your relationships. You modeled kindness, integrity and truth in all matters throughout your life. You taught us the value of second chances. Above all, you loved completely. We love and will miss you.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX, 78752. In remembrance of Charles’s life, the family asks that charitable donations be made to the Ridings Family Scholarship at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Online gifts can be made at https://www.lpts.edu/forms/donate/ or mail a check to: Louisville Seminary, 1044 Alta Vista Road, Louisville, KY 40205. Please indicate your donation is for the “Ridings Family Scholarship.”